Winkies!

Dear Fellow Ballet Teacher,

Have any idea what a Winkie is? Here is a little reminder:
http://youtu.be/nx8-J66yawM

This past weekend my little teen ballet class was in Center Stage's production of The Wizard of Oz. They were the wicked witch's castle guards, the Winkies. They don't really match the original movie's look of castle guards, but they look pretty guard like, right? The entire production was pretty darn amazing, and I couldn't have been prouder.

Everything about the night made me want to suit up and perform with them! Remember being stuck in little rooms below the stage waiting for your turn in the recital? Remember having make-up on and wearing a costume with sequins and tulle? Ok but actually the waiting below In crowded rooms with lots of other classes, yeah I didn't miss that.

Love, Miss Kallene (ballet teacher name)

Easter eggs!

Just gotta say I am proud of our little brother. He invited us and another couple over to dye Easter eggs. They had crayons, colors of all kinds, the shrink wrap things, a lighter to melt the crayons on, and a glitter station. That was Mr. P's favorite.

Makes me think of the many family nights over the years, all six of us around the table at Tattenhome, dying eggs-each his own dozen!

And then come the multi colored egg salad sandwiches in our lunch bags. :) I hope you get to dye some eggs in your new house.

Goodbye Seattle

Kerry Park over the last 5 years

Goodbye Seattle... Hello Portland

It's true.  We are moving from Seattle to Portland at the end of the month.  Everyone says we will love Portland (which is probably true) but I am desperately sad to leave Seattle.  I have truly fallen in love with Seattle.  

This is where we started our sweet little family.  We moved here when T Bear was 5 weeks old, then Cub and Little Grizzly were born at Swedish Hospital.  

We have made incredible friends.  We have had great neighbors.  I have made lifelong friends through Stroller Strides and teaching dance at the community centers.  Through church we have made friends who have been like family members to us. 

The city of Seattle has shown us her beauty and hidden treasures. We have eaten delicious food and soaked in the beauty of the greenery and water that surrounds Seattle. 

Oh, I am getting so sad.  I think I am going to stay in denial about the move and pretend like life is going on like normal.

See you all later,

-Miss T

We took the boys to the top of the Space Needle for brunch (longest meal of our life!).  It was very tasty and the boys loved the rotating restaurant and their new pajamas.

When the Sun Shines in Seattle

Last weekend, we woke up and talked about how there was a lot of work to be done around the house.  Once we started to get going we realized it was a beautiful sunny day.  In true Seattle fashion, we abandoned all our plans and spent the rest of our weekend out in the sun.

We headed out to Gas Works Park in the late afternoon.  The boys were hoping to fly their kites on kite hill.  It was not windy enough for kites, so we settled for people watching.  

Our people watching experience was so enthralling, Big D and I mentioned how we felt like it was a movie set for some romantic comedy.  I will try to capture everything we saw in one park.

-Sailboats, motorboats, police boats
-Kayaks (remember when you went on that weird date to kayak on Lake Union?)
-the boys loved throwing rocks in the water and making leaves float
-big dogs, little dogs, cute dogs, the ugliest dog I have ever seen, and the most beautiful dog Big D has ever seen (a husky)
-a group of hula-hoopers wearing green sparkly attire being filmed in different spots of the park
-professional photographers and amateur photo shoots
-a group of college kids smoking (pretty sure it was pot since it is legal here now)
-people playing frisbee
-lots of people having picnics or BBQs
-some guys doing parkour around the old structures
-some dumb girls blatantly trespassing behind a fence that says "No Trespassing" around the old factory pipes
-another group swing dancing
-a dad and his boys racing huge remote control cars
-long boards, skateboards
-boys playing catch with a football
-a crazy guy who had earbuds in and was literally rocking out/dancing by himself in a corner unashamed
-sea planes landing and taking off on Lake Union
-lovers, friends, families, co-eds, strangers, people of all kinds

As we enjoyed our time at Gas Works Park, we thought Why would we ever leave this place?  We love Seattle.

And it's true, we love Seattle.  And as Seattlites, we love it when the sun shines.

-Miss T

I Used To Be That Mom!

KK,

Every Tuesday, a good friend watches T Bear and Cub so I can go grocery shopping for an hour.  This time is very precious to me as you can imagine.  This last Tuesday, as I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store, there was a strange sound coming from my car.  It sounded like a wheel was coming lose.  Instead of staying and shopping, I drove straight to the tire shop.

While I was waiting for my wheels/tires to be inspected and fixed, I watched a cute young mom walk in.  She was dressed adorably with tall brown boots and the sweetest little one-year-old girl on hip (she had the cutest black boots).  I listened to this mom ask the workers if it would really take 45 minutes to repair a flat tire because she didn't think she could entertain her daughter that long in the waiting room.  In mind my I thought, Yeah, you think one kid is tough, be glad you don't have three boys!

Then as this mom walked over to the waiting area to sit, I became very self conscious and screamed in my head, DON'T LOOK AT ME! DON'T LOOK AT ME! as I slouched in my chair.

I suddenly had realized what I looked like.  I was wearing track pants stained with food, a T-shirt with spit-up on it, tennis shoes, and no make-up.  I had showered that morning, but my hair was quickly pulled back in a not-cute pony tail.  All of a sudden it hit me: I used to be that mom!  I used to be dressed cute with a little one year boy (also dressed well) on my hip.  Now I was a frumpy mom with three boys and a never expiring look of exhaustion.  

Oh it was depressing.  For the first time, I wished I had my other boys were with me, so that everyone around me would understand why I looked the way I did.  I needed my crazy boys to explain my sad physical state and appearance.  

I thought I about telling that sweet mom to not have any more children or she would not end up like me.  But I couldn't even talk to her because I am sure she was wondering why I looked so pathetic with just one sleeping baby in a car seat at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

It is a sad story.  Honestly, I know I am not looking the best right now, but I am hoping this phase doesn't last forever.  Besides, I hear these little kids grow up quickly.  Despite wearing sweat pants and T-shirts, I am trying to enjoy this time of having young children.  I just should probably not go out in public very often.

When I used to be "that" mom.

-Miss T
(I am not posting any pictures of myself right now for obvious reasons.)